136 
ON THE BRIDGE OP LISMORE. 
[Nature and Art, October 1, 18G6. 
coast to Dingle Bay on the west was before us ; , 
slowly we mounted one spur after another, paused 
to rest by a lonely lake, and again resuming our 
pleasant pilgrimage, at last halted on the summit. 
Far below, on either side, stretched an interminable 
expanse of heather, now in richest bloom. To the 
north lay the fertile plains of Tipperary, to the 
south the golden valley of the Blackwater ; whilst 
on the east towered the purple peak of Ivnock-mel- 
dawn. Twilight was falling when we reached the 
hotel in the episcopal town of Lismore, and a short 
stage would have carried me to my friend’s house ; 
birt that stage implied another hour’s jolting. I was 
dead tired, and had the Dean and Chapter asked 
me to “move on,” I should have answered “No.” 
Somnus is a partial deity ; in the town he bestows 
on his worshippers lethargy, in the country gives 
them the blessing of rest. How light and refresh- 
ing were my slumbers. All night I felt the sweet 
breath of the fields on my cheek ; heard the leaves 
whispering to each other ; and was broad awake 
when the martins brought the first instalment of 
breakfast to their children in the mud cabin above 
my window. The cathedral clock was striking five 
as I stood in the street. The little place looked so 
clean and thriving, that it seemed less like an Irish 
than an English town. “ The Mall” evidently held 
a resident gentry ; you might have sworn, without 
fear of perjury, that the curate and the doctor, the 
lawyer, half a dozen maiden ladies, and his reverence 
Father Mahony, P.P., lived there. But here, punc- 
tual as the hour, comes my old professional man, 
Mr. Bay. 
“Well, Ned ; I see Tim delivered my message.” 
My companion gave me a warm welcome, more 
Hibernico, and then proceeded to business. 
“ I suppose it’s to the bridge your honour 'll be 
going 1” 
The distance did not probably exceed two hun- 
dred yards ; eager fingers screwed the rod together 
and passed the line through the rings ; in another 
minute the small flies were falling and eddying over 
the high arch towards the tail of the long pool above. 
Light fell the line, but in vain ; again, and again, 
and again the cast was repeated, without producing 
any more favourable result. 
“ I s’.pose we must change,” remarked Mr. Bay, 
Avho had been standing silent and disconsolate at 
my left shoulder. “ This an’t like what you remem- 
ber it, before the queen put them bastes of gaps in 
the weir there, and spiled the best bit of wather in 
the IioavI kingdom of Ireland. It’s all ready, your 
honour ; but it an’t the least use in life. Sure ye 
didn’t rise him ? ” noticing an upward motion of 
the rod. “ Holy Mary ! but he’s stuck in him.” 
The fish was light, but the ground was unfavour- 
able. If the salmon dashed straight ahead, it Avas 
quite possible to be “ run out it was still more 
likely that, when half done, lie might drop down 
the current under the arch : in either case there Avas 
a difficulty, the danger being in the ratio of the 
size. There was, hoAveA-er, little fear of losing the 
small but active grilse now on the rod from either 
of these accidents. From our elevated position, 
every movement of our agile foe could be seen 
plainly ; and the marvel was how the slight hook 
held him, even for a moment. Noav he spins round 
and round like a dancing dervish ; then he darts 
like an arrow into the deeps above : but slower 
grows the pace, those desperate leaps have broken 
his heart, his race is nearly run, the polished steel 
is near him — uoav a foot— another inch ! There Avas 
a slight splash, the line grew slack, and leaning 
over the parapet, I could see Mr. Ned, in the 
meadoAv beloAv, carefully extracting the fly from 
our first fish for the day. 
My professional friend had one fault — his deli- 
beration was maddening. If the poor fellow ever 
had an enemy — which I doubt — he would have 
called it laziness, apathy, carelessness. The imper- 
turbable one had some distance to come round ; but 
when at last he did arrive, his constitutional tran- 
quillity for once deserted him, as he cast a hurried 
glance upwards at the arching rod, and then into 
the stream beloAv. It was a time for action, not 
discussion, for Ave Avere “fast” in a stout salmon, 
whose furious runs and desperate summersaults de- 
manded full attention. Up to this time, however, 
matters had gone smoothly, the fish keeping Avell 
up the Avater ; but we could not be blind to the 
danger of his gradually dropping down with the 
current under the arch as strength failed him ; in 
which case, with so heavy an adversary, Ave should 
be ruined beyond redemption. The crisis Avas at 
hand ; unable longer to resist the combined forces 
of the stream and a hundred and tAventy yards of 
line, “faint, but fighting still,” sloAvly, but, alas! 
too surely, he began to give ground. Now he is 
within tAventy — Avithin ten yards of the bridge ; 
now under, iaoav beloav ! 
With the butt at the level of my head, and the 
point towards the Avater, I leaned desperately over 
the parapet, endeavouring, by the elasticity of the 
rod, to check my friend’s progress on the road to 
ruin. It is said, “ a wilful man must have his way,” 
and a more headstrong individual than the one in 
question I trust never to meet. Doavii, down, still 
down — three minutes more, and I should be ruined. 
In the moment of peril true genius shows itself. 
Connected with the southern end of the parapet 
was a Ioav Avail bounding a plantation belonging to 
the Castle. Once there, Ave Avere on a level with 
the river. I could pass under the arch, and folloAv 
the fugitive ; but, alas ! there were some twenty 
feet of empty air between that low Avail and the 
ground. All this flashed through my mind in an 
instant ; but, brief as that space was, the danger 
Avas so much the nearer. Giving full play to the 
wheel, I dashed doAvn the road, leaped on the 
masonry, and thrust the rod into Mr. Ned’s aston- 
ished hands. Grasping the coping, and dropping 
to the full stretch of my arms, I let go my hold, 
and, by great luck, fell lightly on my feet. Swiftly 
but carefully the rod Avas lowered ; in another 
second it would have been too late, for the barrel 
of the wheel shone brightly through the few yards 
of line which yet remained. With a shout to my 
companion, I rushed on, and in a dozen strides Avas 
